The Institute for International Business Communication (財団法人 国際ビジネスコミュニケーション協会 Zaidanhōjin Kokusai Bijinesu Komyunikēshon Kyōkai?) operates the TOEIC test in Japan, where a total of nearly 1.5 million people take the test per year. There are two ways to take the TOEIC test properly. One is called the TOEIC SP Test (Secure Program Test; 公開テスト Kōkai Tesuto?), in which one can take the test either individually or in a group on specified dates at a test centre specified by the TOEIC Steering Committee. The other is the TOEIC Institutional Program (IP) Test (団体特別受験制度 Dantai Tokubetsu Juken Seido?), in which an organization can choose the date and administer the test at its convenience in accordance with the TOEIC Steering Committee. The TOEIC SP Test was renewed on May 2006, followed by the TOEIC IP Test in April 2007 in line so that it would be with the SP Test. More and more companies use TOEIC scores for personnel assessment instead of the homegrown STEP Eiken test organized by the Society for Testing English Proficiency (STEP) (日本英語検定協会主催実用英語技能検定試験「英検」 Nihon Eigo Kentei Kyōkai Shusai Jitsuyō Eigo Ginō Kentei Shiken "Eiken"?). The TOEIC Speaking Test/Writing Test started on January 21, 2007 in addition to the TOEIC SP Test and the TOEIC IP Test.